


Yellow Teddy Bear Sunflowers

by Susimau



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Country Boys, Fluff, Imagine this in an ongoing golden glow, M/M, Mingi wants to become a mechanic, Summer Love, Sunflower Facts, They are sweet, Yunho is a little flower boy, this is set in America
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:53:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26478283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Susimau/pseuds/Susimau
Summary: Yunho's eyes sparkle when he talks about sunflowers, and maybe Mingi is a little bit in love.
Relationships: Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi
Comments: 18
Kudos: 85





	Yellow Teddy Bear Sunflowers

Mingi jumped out of the truck and onto the dusty driveway of the little farm. The sun immediately came bearing down on him with intense heat, urging Mingi to scramble and reach for the straw hat that hung down on his back. He pressed it back onto his brown locks that had sweat sticking to his hairline.

Only then, he dared to lift his head again and glance out over the vast field in front of him. As far as his eye could reach, bright yellow sunflowers surrounded them. They encircled the whole farm like an ocean of yellow to try and reach the sun with the elegant long stems. They were healthier than any flower Mingi had ever seen and shone in their vibrant colors.

The fields were impressive, especially given that the little family here did all this by themselves. Little holiday helpers like Mingi were only there to ease tasks around the house and additional work that came up. No one except for the Jeongs themselves were allowed to tend to the flowers.

"This is amazing. You have my respect for all this hard work. They are beautiful." Mingi turned to look at the head of the house that had been so kind as to collect him at the train station. The man threw him a brilliant smile from where he was just lifting Mingi's suitcase from the back of the truck. Mingi hurried to help him.

"Thanks, Mingi! I hope that you will have a nice summer here. If you have questions or any needs, you can bother wife or me any time. I'm confident that you will get along wonderfully with my sons!"

Mingi took his suitcase as well as another bag of tools the man handed him. As they walked around the house to find the front door, Mingi matched his pace with that of the man next to him.

"You said that one of them was my age, right? Yunho, I believe?" Mingi's voice was laced with curiosity. Coming from the countryside, he had not too many friends his age around. Rather, he was surrounded by warm-hearted, if sometimes easily offended, old people. Most of them loved Mingi for his height and pretty face, but he craved friends his age.

"He is. He was born just a few months before you, from what I have gathered. You two will get along well!" The man smiled proudly with his old and wrinkly face. Mingi beamed at him.

"Alright! I will report back to you after we have met!" Mingi could barely hold his excitement at the prospect of a new friend. It was part of why he had agreed to the offer to come here during his precious holiday time. His mother had shown him photos of the family via Facebook and when Mingi had seen their bright smiling faces and the radiant happiness both of the sons embodied, he had agreed.

For now, meeting new friends was postponed, though. Mingi was led into the house and got to know the cheerful Mrs. Jeong, who insisted on being called mom by Mingi. She was positively delighted at getting to know Mingi and complimented about every aspect of Mingi she could see. After Mingi had gotten to know her a bit and brought his things to his room, he was already roped into work.

With an old shirt that was bound to have dirt all over it in a few hours, Mingi followed Mister Jeong around the farm. The man explained patiently where the tools were and what Mingi's job was. He was supposed to build a shed near the house, so he would spend many hours outside basking in the warm sun and overlooking the pretty fields.

They began to get some work done while dinner was prepared inside. Mingi carried all the things he needed over and listened attentively to Mister Jeong's instructions as he did. He already liked the place. The people were kind, and he had a spectacular view over the sunflower fields from where he was working. Next to the future shed stood a mighty apple tree that had a swing hanging down from one of the thicker branches. It looked picturesque and like a spot full of fond children's memories with the little wildflowers that surrounded the location.

Mingi hummed a little melody under his breath until the sun set, and he was called inside. He joked with Mister Jeong as they entered and found their places at the small table that had a bench in one corner. Mingi could hear the lady of the house laugh in the kitchens with who he assumed to be one of the sons. Indeed, she had a young man with her when she emerged from the kitchen carrying some pots with stew.

Mingi could see that it was the younger one of their two sons and got introduced to him right after they had settled down. The boy was called Gunho and greeted Mingi with a bright smile.

"Where's Yunho, dear? Still out in town?" Mister Jeong put some salt in his lentil stew while his wife used vinegar.

"Yes. He called me earlier, asking if I needed him to bring something on his way back. He should be back soon."

Mingi concluded that Yunho was the one his age.

"Take as much as you need! I've made enough to feed a whole army!" With a big smile, Mrs. Jeong reached for Mingi's still unfilled bowl. Mingi handed it over with a laugh as he high-fived Gunho at the same time. The teen already looked at Mingi with shining eyes by the time he dropped a cool greeting on him. Mingi could imagine them becoming good friends.

"Well, or three young men. You know how much Yunho can eat."

Mingi received his full bowl and a piece of bread back. He set them down with gratitude and nodded affirmatively at the older man opposite of him.

"Very true. You have no idea just how much food I consume during working hours! It could fill another shed!" He exaggerated, but Gunho still looked mightily impressed.

The family laughed together before they all began eating their meal. Mingi praised the delicious dish that actually managed to get him full after his sixth portion. Yunho didn't get to join them during their feast, but they made sure to save him some leftovers so he wouldn't have to come home to an empty stomach.

After the meal, Mingi was sent to his room to spend the rest of his evening as he wished. There, he had dropped down on his neatly made bed in a cute little corner that was full of little trinkets and decorations. The memories stored in seemingly random objects reminded Mingi even more of their cottagecore setting. So far, he had had a good time, and as he reported back to his family about it, he made sure to snap a picture of the cute floral printed curtains for his mother. She was elated to hear that everything had gone well and even asked for the recipe of the rumored best stew Mingi had ever tasted.

Mingi also told a few of his friends about his new working place. They were all very supportive and wished him only the best. They entertained him for a while until Mingi decided it was late enough to sleep. He had to rise early the next morning if he wanted to get some work done before the worst hours of sunlight would turn his working place into an oven. Thus, he decided to pay a last visit to the bathroom and then return to dreamland.

However, just as Mingi stepped out into the dimly lit corridor, another door opened. By coincidence, it was the exact bathroom door Mingi's eyes had fixed on. As the door gave way, a stream of light hit the opposite wall and temporarily blinded Mingi. Just as quickly as it came, it was gone again, and Mingi blinked as he heard steps approaching.

Then, a cheerful voice spoke up.

"Oh? You must be Mingi, right? Nice to meet you!"

Mingi managed to adjust his sight enough to be able to see a tall man that came his way. The light fell onto his wet hair that he was drying with a baby blue towel at the moment.

He was smiling friendly and full of interest towards the stranger he had found in their house. Mingi looked down on his white shirt and gray sweatpants, deciding he liked the homey look.

"Well, I would hope so. If not, you would have a potential robber a perfect disguise just now." Mingi extended his hand for the other man to take and received a gentle handshake without any force behind it in return. Mingi had initially planned to go for a manly and firm pressure, but at taking the man's big hands in his, he decided against it.

"Oh, true! Well then, are you? I can tell you my name only after I know my house safe."

Mingi brought his hand back to his side, a wry smirk painting his lips.

"I am. Nice to meet you, Yunho."

Yunho pretended to be shocked, his mouth dropping open. His hand came back up to ruffle his hair.

"How very surprising. I have no idea how you could have known."

Both of them had to laugh at their amusing exchange. Mingi found himself at ease around the other man and could also see some similarities between the brothers and their parents on Yunho's gentle face.

"Call it magic. Or maybe... Maybe it was the intel I've gathered before trespassing?"

Grinning, Yunho narrowed his eyes at him.

"Oh, so you mean you learned about us so you would be able to pretend to be our part-timer?"

Mingi wagged his eyebrows at him.

"Maybe I did."

Yunho giggled with him until he stepped aside. With a grand gesture, he motioned Mingi to pass him.

"Bathroom, right? Go on; you passed the test."

Mingi laughed at him as he went further down the corridor and into the still steamy room. It smelled like toothpaste and shampoo in there. He finished with washing his own face and then went to be,d hoping that he would find another moment for small talk with Yunho soon.

-

The next day of work started early for Mingi. He fetched some breakfast in the kitchens around seven and consumed it on his way outside. He was just slipping on his gloves to start nailing the planks together when a noise from behind the house made him turn. From the directions of the barn cornering the home, Yunho neared with a bicycle at his side. It had a sweet little bouquet of flowers decoratively arranged in the basket at the front, and Yunho was wearing blue overalls that had tiny flowers painted all over them.

Mingi gave a big grin as he saw the man approach. Right away, Yunho waved back with a big grin on his face. His blond hair was dry by now, and Mingi could spot a few tiny pearls and colorful streaks of blue and pink in his locks. He also found the purple and orange shirt the tall man wore fitted him well.

"Good morning! Did you sleep well during your first night here?" Even in the morning, Yunho was already a ray of sunshine. He might as well have been one of the tall flowers on the field.

As he neared, Mingi found himself even looking up to him for a bit. It might have been Yunho's boots, but Mingi quite liked not being the tallest around for once.

"I did, thanks. Thankfully there was no other robber around."

Yunho came to a halt next to him and glanced at the pile of utensils that Mingi had collected.

"I'm glad. But, of course, since I am the manly man at home, I would have come right to your rescue if you screamed. Part-timer or not." Yunho gave him a thumbs-up that made Mingi break out in laughter.

"Now I feel safe, thanks! Are you going to work?"

"Yes! I'll be around tomorrow, though, so let's hang out more!" Yunho enthusiastically swung his leg over his bike and gripped the handles. Mingi politely stepped aside to let him pass.

"Sure. Have fun and see you later."

Yunho waved at Mingi over his shoulder before he took off between the fields. Mingi watched him go with the wind mussing up his hair and his face happy.

Mingi couldn't help himself but also smile at the display of happiness. Yunho sure knew how to energize a man. He went to work full of new motivation and began hammering away during the early morning hours.

Mister Jeong joined him later somewhen and greeted him with a few cookies he could snack on while he worked. Then, he left Mingi to do his thing while he went out in the fields. Gunho went with him, so Mingi stayed back with Yunho's mother that didn't miss a chance to supply him with water and cookies.

Around noon he took a short break that he spent inside. Mrs. Jeong cooed at his sweaty hair as Mingi pulled his dusty boots off and dropped down at the kitchen aisle. She was making a cake for later that evening and was elated to have a little conversation with Mingi while he cooled down.

Work continued in the afternoon and stretched until the evening. By the time Mingi set his tools down and started packing up to protect his utensils from the oncoming rain, the sun was already setting.

Yunho returned home during the last rays of sunshine. The sky had taken on a faint pink and orange hue that reminded Mingi of the colors of Yunho's hair. When the tall man appeared on his bike in the ocean of golden sunflowers, Mingi felt as if the exhaustion of the day was lifted right off his shoulders. He could spend hours away talking to the friendly giant that exuded happiness.

Yunho spotted him quickly and came over to halt right next to Mingi. The boy could see how Yunho's blond hair stuck a little to his forehead as if he had raced part of the way he had taken. Imagining Yunho joyously rolling through the roads surrounded by pretty fields that Mingi had seen on his way, here was a calming image.

"Mingi! I see you've survived your first full day! Wow, this already looks great!" Yunho nodded at the first little beginnings of the structure of the shed while he wiped his brow. Mingi shrugged.

"It's cool. Nothing much, actually. You'll see actual progress in a few days."

"Nooo, this is already progress! Don't play down your hard work! I can see how sweaty you are!" Yunho reached over to swipe his fingers over Mingi's glistening shoulder. He had opted for a tank top today, and a nice tan had already settled on his skin. A little part of Mingi wished Yunho would like it. However, the larger part of him was well aware of how much of a mess he was. He probably reeked of sweat.

"Well, thanks. I'll see that as my pass to stop for today, then. You are responsible," Mingi joked only half-serious. Yunho lifted one of his slender hands in front of his lips to giggle into it. Mingi watched him quite endeared. The tall man was cute.

"I'll take any responsibility if it means I get to see you take a break. Did mom even feed you?"

Mingi gently nudged him with his elbow, making the other man giggle.

"She did, your mom is great. I nearly felt bad for being so slow."

"Not slow. Tidy. Well then, see you inside!" With that, Yunho gave another grin and pushed his bike off humming. Mingi smiled after him and moved to put his things away.

He saw Yunho again during dinner, and every member of the family reported about their work. They had finished a bountiful day, and Mingi was praised for his hard work before he was sent to bed. He climbed the stairs together with the brothers and said bye in the corridor. Yunho's bright smile stayed in his mind for a while during the evening.

-

The rain had come and gone overnight. It left the earth wet and slippery but fertile with the rich scent of nature. The flowers had drooped a bit under the heavy drops, but seeing the little spider webs between them twinkling in the morning sun made it worth it.

Mingi went to work soon, wearing a pair of green rain boots today that he could freely get dirt on. Yunho passed him on his way out on the fields wearing a matching pair of boots and handed Mingi his snacks for the day before he left with a smile.

Another morning was spent switching between savoring cookies and building the shed. The temperatures kept nicely cool during the day, so Mingi barely noticed when noon rolled around. However, as Mrs. Jeong joined him outside with a basket of food, he looked up.

"Time for a break, dear. How about spending some time with Yunho? Only if you want, that is. If not, I can bring him his lunch."

Mingi threw his gloves off with a grin. He received the basket, careful not to knock anything inside over, and nodded quickly.

"Sure, why not? Where can I find him?"

Mrs. Jeong pointed him to one corner of the field.

"I saw him over there from the window. Just yell his name if you get lost."

And off, Mingi went. He was munching on another brownie as he made his way through the narrow paths between flowers that were taller than he. By the time he neared the spot Yunho was supposed to be in, his brownie was halfway finished.

"Yunho? Are you here somewhere?" He spoke mostly towards the flowers but received an answer anyway.

"Over here! Go left and then to your right!"

Mingi trotted on, and his face lit up as he indeed found Yunho joining him in a little clearing soon. The little patch of grass was covered by a blanket that had Yunho's working utensils on it together with various bouquets of flowers.

Yunho smiled like the sun as he spotted Mingi and the basket.

"Oh, it's the lunch fairy!"

"One and only."

They sat down together on the blanket, and Yunho dug right in to spread out the food between them. He made sure to divide everything neatly and with great concentration on his task. He giggled when Mingi told him that he didn't like the tomatoes.

"Very well, I don't like the cucumbers. Exchange?"

Mingi agreed easily.

They sat together on the blanket and began to eat with no hurry. It was a beautiful spot, and Mingi found himself lingering, eating just a tad slower than he did the day before.

"So, you like building sheds, huh?" Yunho casually asked while he peeled a banana. Mingi laughed around his bread.

"I actually don't. I'm just really good at building and fixing things. I want to become a mechanic."

"Ohh, so cars and stuff? That's so cool! I know who to go to if my car ever breaks down!" At Mingi's incredulous look, he laughed. "Well, as soon as I have one."

Mingi smiled to himself. He wouldn't mind that.

"Yep. If that shed looks like a car at the end, you can't blame me."

"My dad would go crazy over a shed that looks like a car. Honestly, he'd love it. Gunho would tell all of his classmates, too."

Mingi had to laugh at that and saw satisfaction bloom on Yunho's face at the sound.

"Of course. So what are you doing out here the whole day?"

Yunho turned to point at the flowers he had prepared.

"Collecting orders. See those? Those are Teddy Bear Sunflowers. The kids in the village love them, so the principal always orders a lot of them for the classrooms!"

Indeed, the flowers he jabbed his fingers at looked kind of fluffy, as far as flowers did that. They had many petals that made them resemble a ball of wool more than anything else. Mingi could see why children would like them.

"Cute. I never saw those before. And if I did, I didn't regard them as sunflowers."

Yunho's face lit up. Within a minute, he looked like a kid with bright eyes that told Mingi about his big passion.

"They are far smaller than other sunflowers, so they easily get mistaken! But they belong to the same family! Further east, we also have a patch of field that isn't yellow sunflowers, but red ones!"

Mingi gasped softly.

"Red sunflowers?!"

Yunho pushed his chest out, barely enough for Mingi to notice but for his pride to come across. Endearing.

"Yep! Bet you didn't think sunflowers could be anything but yellow, right?"

Mingi chuckled as he took a sip of his water.

"I guess I didn't. You will have to show me somewhen."

"Sure, I can do that!" Yunho leaned forward when a bit of his bread dropped due to his hasty eating while talking. Mingi chuckled at him struggling to catch it. While he did, his eyes caught onto something in Yunho's hair. It was a bright yellow bit of a flower petal that must have gotten stuck there during work.

"Oh, you have something in your hair. Do you want me to get it out?"

Yunho looked up at him with big eyes before nodding and moving closer. He nearly butted his head into Mingi's chin, and Mingi caught his head with laughter as he peeled the petal out. Yunho smelled of flowers and nature.

"There you go, just a flowery friend." Mingi dropped it into the grass. Yunho sat back up with a sigh.

"Oh, thank God, I thought it might be a spider."

They laughed together and resumed their meal until they ran out of time. When they noticed their tardiness, Mingi hurried to get back to work and sneak behind the house as if he had never been gone.

He had a good day with Yunho's gentle voice replaying in his head.

-

"Mingi! Are you free in the afternoon? I want to show you the red sunflowers!"

Mingi looked up from his controller to find Yunho, who had appeared in the doorway. The man was grinning at him cheerfully.

Gunho whined where he was seated next to Mingi and nearly halfway in his lap.

"Noooo, we are playing right now!"

"I said in the afternoon! You don't have to quit!"

Gunho pouted with big puppy eyes.

"But then we can't play in the afternoon!"

Mingi reached out to tickle the boy under his chin until he curled into a giggling ball, not forgetting to pause their precious game. Gunho writhed in his lap in a desperate attempt to get away from him. His joyous laughter echoed through the house, making Yunho chuckle.

"Hey, come on, lad. We've been playing for four hours already! I sacrificed my lunch for you!"

"But I wanna keep playing!"

Mingi stilled his fingers to look down at the sulking boy. Yunho cooed gently at him.

"Alright, how about this? I will go with Yunho later, and we can play together again tomorrow after dinner. How's that sound? Deal?"

Gunho sluggishly hit the hand Mingi reached out, knowing he had no choice.

"Okay, fine... If you don't finish this game with me, you'll have to come back!"

Mingi laughed as he turned to Yunho, nodding as an affirmative. Yunho copied the gesture and let them finish their game. Thankfully, they won that round, so Gunho had no reason to force Mingi to stay for another one. Yet, he kept whining as Mingi moved to stand. Mingi had to leave him behind with the promise of returning tomorrow as he joined Yunho. They quickly fled outside before Gunho could cry their ears off.

As they arrived in front of the house, Yunho beckoned Mingi over to the bike he had already brought out. The thought of the two giants on top of the bike seemed hilarious, but Mingi wouldn't complain. Instead, he sat down behind Yunho and held onto his hips with careful hands.

"Alright, don't fall off! And if you do, don't!"

Mingi chuckled at him as Yunho started kicking his legs. Mingi could feel the muscles shift underneath the man's warm skin. He held on tight as they crossed the impressive fields to travel further outside.

It took them about fifteen minutes of casual talking and Mingi appreciating the scenery until Yunho slowed them down to a stop. From then on, they walked, weaving their way through the high stalks of flowers as they left the bike behind. Yunho naturally had taken Mingi's hand so he wouldn't lose the other man in the fields, and Mingi was staring like an idiot at their interlaced fingers. He liked the feel of Yunho's hand in his.

When they finally got to the part with the red sunflowers, they passed another clearing. Yunho explained that they had some left space so the different flowers wouldn't mix. He set down their basket with snacks as he motioned over to the flowers.

And indeed. They ranged from orange to a deep red, some with yellow veins crossing over the petals. They were odd to see compared to other sunflowers, but Mingi found himself liking their unique style.

"So, they're goth."

"Right, they're goth."

The boys smiled at each other as they set up their little corner and dropped down to eat. Time passed so quickly, making Mingi forget where he was as he entirely concentrated on Yunho. After some hours, it became clear to him that he immensely enjoyed Yunho's company and found himself giddy with glee around the other man.

Mingi was so busy talking that he missed how the sun disappeared behind the horizon, only appreciating a few of its golden rays that made Yunho's skin glow. And with the twilight, there came the rain.

Yunho interrupted his speech in the middle of a sentence by holding out his hand flat in the air, his brows furrowed. Mingi glanced up into the dark sky, spotting the billowing clouds all over.

"Looks like it will rain."

A fat drop hit Mingi's nose, making him flinch.

"Seems like it. Then let's go back quickly."

Hurriedly, they started packing up their stuff while the drops began multiplying and getting faster. Within few moments, Mingi gave up counting how many drops had hit him. By the time they had gathered their stuff and folded the blanket clumsily and followed by awkward giggles, the sky had long since opened its floodgates on them. Like a playful god, the summer storm started coming down on them with thunder rolling in the distance.

Mingi had to laugh as Yunho hectically stuffed the blanket into his basket. He grabbed Mingi's hand once more as he pulled the man with him to run.

Their rain boots slapped against the wet earth with funny squelching sounds as they ran through the fields. It was useless since Mingi's hair and his shirt already stuck to his body anyway, but his heart was fluttering too much around the sound of Yunho's giggles to deny him this little piece of fun.

They sprinted like madmen while the flowers and skies blurred into one splash of color around them. Mingi laughed at the stupidity of the situation until his cheeks and tummy hurt, and his heart was singing at how Yunho responded.

Then, he slipped.

His foot slid away on a patch of wet earth and off the path, making him go down quickly. The jerk was so sudden that Yunho was yanked back with a surprised yell. Mingi thought to himself about how comically funny it would have been if their basket had lost its intents just how it did in cartoons. Then, his back met the cold ground with a squelching sound, sinking a bit into the loose mud.

Mingi didn't have the time to grimace because Yunho came falling right after him, the basket still gripped tight. The boy on the ground braced for impact and managed to catch the other man as good as possible. Still, the act pushed both men's breath out of their lungs.

Yunho's form was warm and heavy on Mingi's as they laid there frozen for a moment, each checking their bodies for possible injuries.

Then, Mingi was the first one to laugh again.

He had his eyes closed, so the rain wouldn't hit them, and his head was lying on the dirty ground without him caring. Yet, his chest that hurt at the spot Yunho's elbow had hit him vibrated with laughter.

Yunho weakly slapped his shoulder.

"You're all muddy now, how am I supposed to take you up the stairs and into the shower?" Despite his complaints, he didn't move off Mingi. Chuckling, the man left his hand, where his arm had wrapped around Yunho's waist.

"I'll just stand outside for a while. The skies seem to be content with sharing."

"Mom will think I tried to bury you alive."

"That's oddly specific, do you try that often?"

Yunho giggled as he put his chin down on Mingi's chest to blink up at him with big, innocent eyes. His lips curled amusedly.

"Only with hot part-timers."

"Whew, so not me."

Yunho hit Mingi's chest with an indignant gasp.

"Yes, you! You the most out of all people!"

Mingi barely opened his eyes to squint down at him. Yunho was pressed up against his side, half on top of him, halfway on the ground, and content with just snuggling up against Mingi. Neither minded the mud and the rain.

"So you're admitting to thinking I'm hot? I'll take that as a compliment." Smug, he grinned down at Yunho, who tried to hide his face in his hand shyly.

"You're such a tease... Twisting the words in my mouth."

"So, you are denying my obvious looks?" Mingi arched his brow, and his stomach swooped when Yunho hit him again. The blow was weak and resulted in Yunho gingerly settling his long fingers over Mingi's chest. Very smooth.

"Nooo, shut up." Laughing, Yunho buried his face in Mingi's side.

"Make me."

Yunho huffed, pushing his hair back as he turned his head to glare at Mingi without any heat.

"Don't say it like that, I will take it as an invitation to make out with you."

Mingi gave a deep chuckle, his smile bright.

"Who said that wasn't exactly what it was?" Crashing thunder in the distance underlined Mingi's words, making Yunho flinch.

A tense second of silence enveloped them, then Yunho started laughing. He sat up with a big grin, pushing his dripping hair back once again to expose his forehead.

"Nice one. I'll memorize that. Now let's get back. We will probably get hit by lightning if we continue to stay here." He rose with his pants caked with mud. The hand he offered to Mingi looked none the better, but the man still took it. Yunho pulled him up in the darkness with a murmur to mind his step. His voice shook a little, so Mingi figured proudly that he had made the other man nervous.

From how he knew Yunho, he was probably blushing up until the tips of his ears right now. It was a disappointment Mingi couldn't see.

Mingi tried to shake off the feeling of mud and water in his shirt as he hurried after Yunho with their dirty fingers clasped with each other. Yunho slipped once more on their way back through the gray diffuse evening, but this time Mingi laughingly managed to catch him. In a mess of giggles, they made their way back to the bike and hurried home.

They arrived in the barn with their cheeks hurting from laughter, and Mingi's arm swung around Yunho's shoulders in case they stumbled into each other. As they went in through the backdoor to get the least amount of dirt in the house, Yunho's mother passed them with a curious look on her face.

"I was wondering when you two would get home, but I didn't expect two mud monsters to show up."

"In gamer circles, we call them Muks." Yunho grinned at her as she just shook her head and motioned them to stay where they were. They were making a mess of that spot. Mrs. Jeong hurried up the stairs and reappeared shortly after with a heap of fabric.

"I'll go ahead and assume Muks are weak against clean towels and hot showers." She didn't come too close, instead just throwing the towels at them. Yunho effortlessly caught them and handed one to Mingi.

"You hit the bullseye. Mom, you would be a world record specialist in some games."

"Don't try sweet-talking me, young man. You will clean this up later." She sternly glanced at the two of them, but the corners of her mouth twitched anyway.

Mingi gave an exaggerated salute.

"Aye, Captain!"

After that, she took off with a satisfied smile.

Yunho, ever the gentleman, gestured for Mingi to go first.

"What, you don't want to share to save water?" Mingi couldn't help but tease him more now, since they were back in the light. He was ready to risk getting shot down if only he could see that adorable blush dust the man's cheeks.

And indeed, faint red colored his face. It traveled over his cheeks and up until the tips of his ears. Mingi kept himself from cooing and instead just grinned smugly.

"Go. Or else we will actually start smelling like Muks," Yunho played it off coolly and gave a gentle push against Mingi's middle, so he would let go. Giggling, Mingi lifted the towel Yunho was loosely holding to his head and ruffled his wet hair with it.

Yunho took over pouting while Mingi walked off to go take a shower first. His heart was excitedly dancing away in his chest.

-

The rain thankfully settled during the week and didn't disrupt Mingi's work any further. He switched between building the shed, spending his breaks making Yunho blush prettier than dawn, and trying to finish the whole game with Gunho. The boy swore up and down that Mingi was a much better team partner than Yunho, but whenever Mingi squeezed a match with Yunho in, he grew more suspicious of that fact.

It was a Wednesday, and Gunho had tennis practice in the evening while Mingi was clearing away his stuff. Since it was an day without games, Mingi was wondering if he would get Yunho to spend some more time with him. Before he could come up with the perfect plan to rope the man into a conversation, though, Yunho already appeared on his own accord.

And he was carrying cookies.

"Cookies!" Mingi nearly dropped the board he was holding as he tried to reach out and snatch them. Yunho twirled away from him with a stern glance.

"No! Paws off, these are for when you're finished!" Suspicious, he squinted at Mingi, who did the same right back. They seized each other up, both waiting for the other to react.

When Mingi took a tiny step to the right, Yunho shuffled left.

Huge matching grins broke out on their faces at the same time. Huffing, Mingi grabbed his board again.

"Fine, you win. You won't help me, though?"

As an answer, Yunho just dropped down on the swing nearby with a teasing grin and began to eat the cookies. Mingi could see them depleting quickly.

"Nooo, slow down, I'll hurry!"

He raced back and forth between the barn and his working place a few times to finish as quickly as possible. Yunho, in the meantime, alternated between cheering him on and audibly crunching away on the cookies.

After what felt like forever, Mingi was finally able to join him. He jogged over to snatch the box away and drop down in front of the tree. He dug in as he leaned back, the sweet taste a reward after his long time.

Yunho giggled at him and gently swayed around without putting too much force into it.

For a while, they sat in comfortable silence. Mingi was munching the chocolaty treats while Yunho stared up into the sunset. In the fields, the cicadas started singing their nightly song.

Mingi audibly bit into another cookie, making Yunho glance over. The man had to laugh at how Mingi cradled his box defensively against his chest.

"How are you holding up? Dad wanted me to ask you smoothly whether you planned on coming over next summer, too. He would be happy to see you again." Yunho's voice was low and calming and yet powerful enough to make Mingi's heart skip a beat in their private setting.

"If it's your dad who's asking, sure. I don't have to think twice, then." Mingi leaned his head back against the bark behind him to lazily grin at Yunho. The tall man merely scoffed at him.

"I take that as an insult. You go all out to flirt with me, but you are actually after my dad? I'm deeply hurt."

Mingi threw him a cookie that the man caught with gentle hands.

"That was my plan all along. From the time I sneaked in your home on, I was only after your dad. Stealing your heart was a nice little add-on." Mingi's pulse throbbed when Yunho pouted at him. Huffing, he pretended to be hurt and bit into his cookie angrily. Mingi was not regarded further.

The man chuckled quietly.

"What about you?"

"Hm?"

"It's obvious that your mom and Gunho would like to have me over again, but what about you?"

Yunho lowered his eyes to the floor, so Mingi could appreciatively drag his eyes down the line of his profile. Yunho was biting his pretty lips.

"It's obvious for them, but not for me?"

Silently, Mingi got on his feet. He rounded the swing to slowly step in place behind Yunho's back. Soon, his fingers came to settle around the ropes that held the swing up as he leaned in over Yunho. He spoke against the man's soft and colorful curls.

"I'm not joking."

"Neither am I."

"Then talk to me."

"Make me."

A beat of silence passed between them. The cicadas continued screaming undeterred.

Mingi's voice dropped even lower.

"Then turn around."

Yunho craned his head back to look up at Mingi. The man used that exact moment to dip further down and get their faces closer. His breath brushed against Yunho's mouth as he hovered, waiting. Their lips did not quite yet touch, both tense to gauge the other's reaction.

"Do you want me to kiss you?" Mingi's voice was barely loud enough for the two of them to hear. Yet, Yunho melted right back into him, all prior anxiety disregarded. His head tilted slightly to ease the access more.

"Yes, please."

It was Yunho, who moved up first despite their conversation. The man kissed just as sweet as about anything else about him. Gentle and patient. Mingi was no poet, but he felt as if he was kissing spring as he kissed the man. He tasted of blooming flowers and orange sunsets. Of warm rain and nights spent in the fields under a sky full of twinkling stars.

Mingi's stomach was swooping and turning as he dipped down a little bit more to kiss Yunho more, to chase this sweet taste that the man had.

Yunho reached up slowly to wrap his hands around Mingi's on the swing. They were even larger than Mingi's own hands and covered them by a good amount as he stabilized himself, so he could kiss up sweetly. His lips were soft and shy against Mingi's.

Mingi caught Yunho smiling into their kiss, and his heart nearly melted in his chest. Immediately, he also had to grin, making their teeth knock uncomfortably in the process.

Both pulled away with surprised laughter, lifting the ban. The magic around them stopped clinging and instead wrapped a little bubble of intimacy around them when their gazes met again.

"So? Will you be back?"

"To make out with you in the fields? Of course!"

Yunho swatted at his chest before he roughly grabbed Mingi's collar to pull him down towards him again. Mingi gave a surprised yelp that was cut off by Yunho's sweet lips. They kissed again, deeper this time. Mingi kept it civil, not slipping his tongue in to play since he was very much aware of the curious eyes that might have been watching them from the windows.

Mingi wondered whether Yunho might actually have been a fairy from how soft his hair was and how angelic his smile.

But as it seemed, he had yet to find out.

There was no way in hell he wouldn't return next summer. Or ask Yunho out for a few dates.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Twitter @Susimau_s for information on my writings!


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